Jackson The Matchmaker
by Marymel
Summary: Jackson inadvertently plays matchmaker for two family friends.


**Jackson is my original character, but I don't own CSI or Sid The Science Kid.**

**I love seeing D.B.'s family on the show, and I miss Catherine's family as well. I got to thinking...what if somehow Jackson inadvertently played matchmaker? I had to write it! Hope you all enjoy...and pretty please review!**

Greg Sanders stared at his phone, hoping D.B.'s son Charlie would text him back. He and Sara had been called back to court for further testimony on a case, and Greg needed a babysitter for his son Jackson. Morgan was on a case with swing shift CSI Sean Yeager, Nick and Finn were on a case, Doc Robbins and his wife were with their daughter and grandson, and Jackson's regular babysitter, D.B.'s wife Barbara, was in Seattle visiting her daughter. Everyone Greg called was either working or unavailable.

Greg was just about to give up when his phone rang. Answering on the first ring, Greg quickly said, "Hello?"

"Hey!"

Greg smiled when he heard Lindsey Willows, the daughter of his former boss. "Hey, Lindsey! How's college?"

"Great. I have a day off today, so I was wondering if I could come by. I haven't seen Jackson in a while." Lindsey, her mother and grandmother met Jackson when they came to his fourth birthday party, and adored him instantly. And Jackson loved them as well.

"That would be great, but I have to go to court..." Greg smiled. "I hate to ask on such short notice, but would you mind watching Jackson for a little while?"

Lindsey smiled. "Sure. I'd love to see him again."

Twenty minutes later, Greg opened the door to find a smiling Lindsey. "Hey, kiddo!"

"Hey!" Lindsey said as she hugged Greg.

Jackson was watching TV in the living room and smiled when he looked up and saw Lindsey.

Lindsey smiled when Jackson jumped off the couch and rushed to her. "Jackson!" She opened her arms and hugged the giggling child.

"I am so sorry, but I have to be in court in half an hour." Greg hurriedly grabbed his cell phone.

Lindsey smiled. "It's okay. I didn't have anything else to do today, and I haven't seen Jackson in a while." She smiled at the little boy in her arms. "How are you?"

"I good! Are you gunna stay here?"

"Just for a little bit," Greg said. "I've got to go to court, but Lindsey promised to stay with you."

Jackson hugged Lindsey. "Yay!"

Greg smiled. "Okay. He's had lunch and a nap, so he should be good. There's some pretzels and snacks he likes in the kitchen. And I'll have my phone turned off, but Morgan's is 555-1142 if you need anything."

"And mom gave me Sara's and Nick's numbers," Lindsey assured him. "We'll be fine, right Jackson?"

"Right!" Jackson said with a big smile.

Greg smiled softly at his son and Lindsey. Rubbing Jackson's back, he said, "You're going to be good for Lindsey, right?"

Jackson giggled and nodded. "Right!"

Kissing Jackson's cheek, Greg said, "I love you!"

"Love you, daddy!"

"I'll be back in about an hour or so," Greg assured Lindsey. "Thank you again, so much!"

"No problem. Good luck!"

"Thanks," Greg said with a smile as he headed out the door. "Love you, Jacks!"

"Love you, daddy!" Jackson waved as Greg drove away.

Lindsey closed the door and carried Jackson back into the house. "I am so happy to see you!"

"I happy to see you! An' lookit!" Jackson pulled Lindsey over to the table where he had paper and crayons scattered about. "I drew dis! It Aunt Sara's doggie!"

"Wow!" Lindsey said softly as she looked at Jackson's drawing. "You are a really good artist!"

Jackson giggled. "Thank you! Do you like Sid Da Science Kid?"

"Who's he?"

Jackson pointed to the TV where one of his favorite shows was on. "He like to investigate everything!"

Lindsey smiled. "Oh, I see. He's a cool science investigator...like you."

"Yeah! An' like my daddy!"

Lindsey smiled softly at the sweet little boy. "You know what? When I was a little girl, your daddy used to babysit me."

"He did?"

"He sure did. One time, I was at the lab and he showed me some cool science stuff."

Jackson giggled and smiled. "Cool! My daddy a good scientist. Uncle Nicky gave me a science kit for my birthday, an' daddy an' me made da water in da toilet bubble up!"

Lindsey laughed. "Wow!"

The two friends watched the show and, when it was over, Jackson wanted to show Lindsey some of his birthday presents. They'd just began drawing with some of the art supplies Mandy gave him when there was a knock at the door.

"Who could that be?" Lindsey asked as she looked out the window. Jackson shrugged, and Lindsey wondered whose car was in the driveway.

"Greg?" A voice called from the front door.

Jackson smiled. "Dat Charlie!"

Lindsey looked through the peephole and opened the door. D.B. Russell's son Charlie smiled in surprise at the young woman. "Oh...hi. Is Greg home?"

"No," Lindsey said with a soft smile. "He had to testify in court."

Charlie nodded. "That explains why his phone went to voicemail. I was in class, and he texted me, asking if I'd babysit."

Jackson smiled and rushed into Charlie's arms. "Charlie!"

"Hey!" Charlie laughed as Jackson jumped into his arms. "How's it going?"

"It good! My friend Lindsey here!"

Charlie smiled at the young woman watching them. "Oh, yeah! You're Catherine's daughter...she used to work with my dad."

"Yeah, I'm Lindsey Willows." She smiled and extended her hand to Charlie.

Charlie shook her hand and smiled. "Hi. I'm Charlie Russell."

Jackson smiled. "We drawing pictures!" He squirmed out of Charlie's arms and pulled him to the coffee table. Lindsey smiled softly and shut the door.

Charlie smiled softly as Lindsey sat down. "I'm sorry. Greg texted a couple of times, said it was urgent."

Lindsey nodded. "It's okay. I have a day off from school, so I offered."

"Charlie, look!" Jackson showed him his drawing of basketball game. "Dis you," he said, pointing to a figure he'd drawn. "You shot da winning basket!"

"I did?" Charlie smiled as he looked at the drawing. "Cool!" He looked up and smiled at Lindsey. "So...I'm sorry to just barge in..."

Lindsey shook her head. "It's fine, really. You're clearly one of his best pals."

Charlie smiled at the little boy happily coloring. "Yeah. I first met him when he came to live with his dad. My mom usually babysits him, but she's visiting my sister and her family in Seattle."

"Dat's where Katie is," Jackson explained. "She Mrs. Barbara's granddaughter, an' she my friend!"

Lindsey smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I talked to your dad last year," she told Charlie. "He said Jackson couldn't wait to see Katie after..."

Charlie nodded as Lindsey trailed off. "Yeah, it was scary...but she came back home. And Jackson couldn't wait to see her."

Jackson smiled. "Katie my friend! I talk to her on da phone an' on da sky."

"Skype," Charlie whispered. Lindsey nodded.

"Yeah, she couldn't come to my birthday party," Jackson said. "But she an' her mommy sent me a gift card an' a cool card!"

"Well, that sounds really cool!" Lindsey said with a warm smile. She smiled softly at Jackson and Charlie chatting and coloring. "Can I get you anything? Soda, or..."

Charlie shook his head. "I'm fine. I am sorry about just showing up. I couldn't get a hold of Greg, and couldn't remember Morgan's number. I wondered if Jackson was okay."

"I fine," Jackson said. "An' my daddy had to go to court, so Lindsey came over!"

"Yeah, you have to turn your cell off in court," Lindsey said. Charlie nodded and smiled.

Jackson took Charlie's hand and looked at Lindsey. "I want to show you my new telescope!"

"Yeah," Charlie said. "Your dad said you got one for your birthday."

Lindsey smiled, and Jackson took her hand. "Come on! I want to show you my room!"

Charlie and Lindsey looked at each other and smiled. "Oh, okay," Lindsey said.

Jackson opened his arms as he came into his room. "Dis da play tent my nana an' papa gave me! My daddy an' me, we like to read in here!"

"Oh, cool," Charlie said. "Did you read the new book I gave you?"

"Yeah! Daddy help me with some of da words, but I liked it!"

Both young adults smiled as Jackson pulled them into the tent. "Oh, careful!" Jackson said as he picked up the toy telescope. "Here da telescope! Mama an' me look at da stars, see?" Jackson pointed to his ceiling where Morgan hung some paper stars.

"Oh, pretty," Lindsey said.

"Yeah," Charlie said. "You know, my grandpa and I used to look at stars through a big telescope."

"You did?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah. He even showed me Venus one time. That's a planet."

"Wow! Cool!" Jackson smiled at Lindsey. "Did your grandpa ever look at stars with you?"

"No," Lindsey said as she shook her head. "But he knew I like horses, so he showed me all kinds of horses."

"Oh, cool! I like horsies! Did you know dat Uncle Nicky's mommy an' daddy have horsies at dere home in Texas?"

"I did know that," Lindsey said.

"I didn't," Charlie said. "That is so cool!"

Jackson sat between Charlie and Lindsey on the floor and looked at the paper stars through his toy telescope. "Yeah. Dey came to visit Uncle Nicky, an' my daddy an' me took dem to dinner. His mommy is nice! She help me eat a piece of pie!"

Charlie and Lindsey couldn't help but laugh. "She did?" Charlie asked.

Jackson nodded. "Yeah. I ate all da, um...what's da white stuff on da pie called?"

"Meringue?" Lindsey asked.

"Oh, yeah. I ate dat off first, an' Uncle Nicky's mommy say I jus' like him!"

"And me," Charlie said. Lindsey added, "Me too."

Jackson smiled at his friends and handed Charlie his toy telescope. "Can you see a planet with dis?"

Lindsey smiled as Charlie took the toy and looked up at the paper stars. "I don't see a planet," Charlie said. "Maybe it's hiding behind the moon."

"Oh," Jackson said with a nod. "I guess dat's okay."

"Yeah, sometimes planets do that," Charlie said with a soft laugh.

Lindsey laughed softly. "Maybe sometime we can look at the stars outside."

"Yeah," Jackson said with a smile.

Lindsey and Charlie smiled as Jackson looked up at the paper stars. Charlie found himself smiling at the beautiful young woman. Clearing his throat, he softly said, "I'm really sorry to just barge in."

Lindsey smiled softly at the handsome young man. "It's okay, really." She blushed and laughed softly.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "What?"

With a soft sigh, Lindsey said, "Just...thinking. Greg used to babysit me when I was little."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. My dad sometimes brought me to the lab if he had a party to get to or something. And if my mom was on a case, I'd sometimes stay with Greg in his lab."

Charlie smiled and nodded. "Cool." Looking at the little boy between them, he added, "My mom usually takes care of him."

"Yeah, you said that," Lindsey reminded him.

Charlie nodded, and softly asked, "Did you...know his mom?" He looked down at Jackson.

Lindsey nodded. "Just briefly. First time I ever saw her was when my mom busted me in a club with a fake ID."

Charlie's eyes widened. "Really?"

Lindsey laughed softly. "Yeah. Riley...that's her name..." Charlie nodded. "Anyway, I got the feeling she didn't like me."

Charlie was about to ask why, when Jackson piped up. "I like you!"

"Well, thank you! I like you too." Lindsey hugged Jackson.

"Dad said she had some harsh words for the team when she left," Charlie said.

Lindsey slowly nodded. "Yeah, she came on board after Warrick Brown died. He was really cool. I think you would have liked him. He knew so much about music and science." She looked down when she thought about the CSI.

Charlie smiled softly. "From what mom and dad have said, she's had nothing more to do with him," Charlie gestured to Jackson. "At first I felt sorry for him, you know? His mom just dumping him like that."

"Yeah," Lindsey said. "Greg is a great guy. And when I think about her not telling him about..." She smiled at the sweet little boy looking at paper stars. "He and Greg belong together."

"Yeah," Charlie agreed. "They love each other. When I first met Jackson..." he tickled the little boy's ribs, causing him to laugh. "...I came over to do laundry and he was staying with my mom."

"Mrs. Barbara's nice!" Jackson said. "She let me help her in da garden, an' we color together, an' I help her make zucky bread!"

"Zucchini bread," Charlie whispered. Lindsey nodded and smiled.

The three of them chatted and played for a bit longer until Greg arrived home. The CSI smiled when he saw his son with the two.

"Daddy, Lindsey an' Charlie play wif me!" Jackson said as he rushed into Greg's arms.

"You didn't answer your cell," Charlie said. "So I came over..."

"It's fine," Greg assured him. Smiling at Jackson, he said, "Looks like you guys had fun."

"Yeah! An' Charlie an' Lindsey like each udder!"

Greg raised an eyebrow and softly smiled as both Lindsey and Charlie slightly blushed. "Well, maybe they can come over again sometime."

"Yeah," Charlie said. "I've got to show you and Lindsey the planets, right?"

"Right!" Jackson and Lindsey said in unison.

Greg smiled. "You guys have time for some coffee, or...?"

Lindsey and Charlie smiled at each other. "Sure," Lindsey said as Charlie said, "Okay."

Jackson squirmed out of Greg's arms and took their hands. "You wanna have some hot chocolate wif me?"

Charlie and Lindsey smiled at the little boy as they sat down on the sofa. Greg smiled as he watched his son with the young couple, wondering if his son had played matchmaker. As Jackson chatted, Charlie and Lindsey smiled at each other.

"Lindsey, I glad you came over today," Jackson said. "An' I glad Charlie could come too!"

Both young adults smiled at each other and thought, _so am I._

**The End.**


End file.
